Epic Battle
by Sealink
Summary: Oneshot, humor. A Hunter faces off with an unforgiving adversary. I did it for the lulz.


**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**_This fic was begun as a Christmas fic last year for Drakonlily. Somehow, it hasn't gotten finished until now. Drakonlily is awesome for waiting this long and being so patient._

**xXx**

The small thing impugned his honor again, and Sihn'da had no patience for such a useless creature. He kicked his foot at it, annoyed, and then afraid that its insults would alert his prey. The thing, spotted not unlike himself, clapped its forelegs around his foot and dug curved claws into it, hissing curses at him. Sihn'da grabbed the organism, scowling at it, but keeping his mouth in check as he carefully disengaged each claw from his tender skin. He looked up, checking on his prey.

The human remained unaware, giggling and frolicking in the dying sunlight. Sihn'da knew that where young were, adults could not be far, and his reconnaissance had found only one adult for this particular youngling. A pale, ugly thing with colorless hair, the human whelps were unsightly and misshapen, still uglier than the adults they grew into.

_At least you have teeth_, he thought at the small thing that seethed and spat at his feet. The lower lifeform was aggressive for its size, and he wondered if perhaps it did not have poisoned claws to be so bold in their use. But he felt no poisonous effects, and in truth, it had barely broken his skin. He reached down for it, picking it up by the scruff of the neck. It had vivid green eyes, with slitted vertical pupils that did not fully span the orb. Pointed ears with fine hairs laid back flat on its head and sensory hairs near its lip fanned forward for maximum sensory input. Its small nose worked constantly, and a hiss accompanied each breath.

He cupped its lower half, rubbing a thumb through the fine fur, and chuckling at its weak growl. He mentally catalogued the animal as one of the planet's 'insects', a lower form of life that was worth mentioning only by virtue of its annoying properties, a _zabin_. Sihn'da chucked the small creature a few feet away, unwilling to waste any more time on it. He turned back to his prey, only to find that it had completely disappeared.

He quickly scanned the area, finding only the small _zabin_ within visor radius. _C'jit_. The human child had left, which meant the adult was probably accompanying it again and they were moving away. The insect had occupied too much of his time and cost him a valuable opportunity. Sihn'da de-cloaked, the invisibility melting off him like water. The _zabin _stood stock-still and watched the eight-foot monster materialize, and Sihn'da clicked at it menacingly. It hissed at him and he laughed. _You're right to be afraid, little zabin_. It came closer, and he stood in place, mocking the creature. He had felt its claws already, pathetic things that they were, and he waited, daring it to do its worst.

Its worst came in the form of a piquant spray from its hind end. Sihn'da stared at the brazen thing, his fists clenching as he tried to ignore the warm urine that soaked his shin cuff. "Little _zabin_," he said softly, "You just signed your death warrant." The animal dashed off into the underbrush, and Sihn'da shook his leg, flicking on his thermal visor to track it as he re-cloaked and blended into the scenery.

It was fast, and its size allowed it to slip through small holes between tree roots; as he grabbed for it, it slipped under a branch and he was left grasping only air. He growled as the _zabin_ moved through the leaf litter with astonishing speed. A few long strides brought him up to the small creature's flank, and he made another grab for it. It was as if it was coated with slime, the ease with which it escaped. It ran ahead, gaining ground while Sihn'da lay where his momentum had carried him. He leapt to his feet, putting all his power into his legs as he ran the last few meters to the clump of leaves where the _zabin_ had disappeared.

Sihn'da was not expecting a yawning ravine opening up underneath his feet He twisted his body in mid-air, looking back at the cliffside he'd just motored off, finding himself staring down the _zabin_, which perched at the crumbly edge of the ravine, hissing at him.

His next actions saved him from the rock-strewn river that swept swiftly through the ravine below. A small tree had eked out a living between the fractured rocks in the ravine wall. He caught at it, the branch twisting and slamming him into the rock face. His breath was knocked out of him, ribs surely bruised, and a terrible creaking warned him that the tree would not hold.

Thinking quickly, Sihn'da reached up and grabbed for a ledge, his feet finding a small purchase on another clump of grasses and roots. The zabin looked down at him, its eyes large, fur standing on end, puffed out to look threatening. When he leaned up, it hissed and spat at him again, growling low in its throat.

Taking stock of his new situation, Sihn'da sighed. The ledge was small, and finding handholds in the nearby rock was going to be difficult; a light overgrowth of small grasses and moss hid any potential instabilities from him. Similarly, he could not go down- rocks and swift water might crack his skull before he was able to surface.

Another look up at the _zabin_ found it staring intently at him, and Sihn'da finally swallowed his pride. "Fair's fair. Would you let me up for an honorable battle?"

The _zabin_ growled low in its throat, and Sihn'da leaned against the rock face again. It was going to be a long night.


End file.
